It all Ends with a Kiss
by LilyLoved
Summary: Madame Giry's past is more complicated than we were led to believe. Experience her teenage relationship with Erik before he became the masked menace of the Opera Populare and discover the betrayal that led him to become the famous Opera Ghost.
1. Chapter 1: Remembering

Chapter 1- Remembering

_"It was his playground and now his artistic domain. He's a genius. He's an architect and designer; he's a composer and a magician. A genius, Monsieur."_

_"But clearly, Madame Giry, genius has turned into madness."_

Madame Giry raced down the endless spiral staircase with the Viscount trailing closely behind her, leading him to the man whom she had solely protected for countless years of her life. She knew that it was finally time to let him go.

The once colorful and extravagant tapestries that adorned the walls of the staircase slowly became distinctly familiar. As she passed each frayed, discolored, and faded tapestry, more and more vivid memories filled her mind until she suddenly stopped.

"This is as far as I dare go, Monsieur," she breathed out, letting the young man pass her on the staircase.

Taking a deep breath, Antoinette Giry watched Raoul's blonde hair as he made his way out of her sight. She slowly placed a hand on the railing and looked over, feeling her heart throb in sorrow. She closed her eyes, holding back tears, and leaned back against the wall, unable to keep her cold, long-forgotten memories at bay any longer.

She remembered a simpler time; a time when the opera house wasn't plagued by a masked ghost; a time before she was married; a time when she was left with a choice . . .

"Antoinette Chevalier?" a young man with freckles asked as he tapped on her shoulder.

Unhooking her arm from that of her ballet friend, she turned around and smiled. "Please, call me by my middle name: Marie," she told him. He nodded and took out a small parcel tied with brown twine and handed it to her. "It's from a Monsieur Gustave Chevalier from La Bourboule d'Auvergne."

Once the boy was gone, Marie and her friend had found their way to a small café by the Opera House.

"Marie, what do you think your father could have sent you?" she asked, leaning over the table as Marie examined it.

"I'm not sure, Adeline. He never sends me anything for my birthday...I usually send them money," she casually said as she pulled the bow lose. Dropping the paper to the ground, she found a drawing of herself looking back at her. Unfolding the newspaper article with her picture on it, Marie stared at it in puzzlement. "NEW STAR AT THE OPERA POPULARE" the headline read. "Adeline, what's this about? I'm no star. I'm barely an official chorus girl," Marie questioned, passing the paper to her friend.

Looking down at the table, she noticed another piece of folded up paper-a letter from her parents and older brother. "We're so very proud..." it began. Marie sighed and tucked it into her corset. "Is this some kind of joke?" she asked her friend, who was still reading. "If this article isn't even here in Paris, then how could they have read it all the way in La Bourboule?"

A sudden thought came to Marie's mind and she pressed her lips together in animosity.

* * *

"Erik, I knew it was you!" Marie scolded as she gave him a playful push.

"Who else would it be?" he questioned with a chuckle.

"Well tell me, then. How did you do it?" she asked, crossing her arms as she sat down on his piano bench.

"Printing an article is easier than it looks, Marie. And besides, I supposed that, after all you've done for me, you deserve some payment-and I thought recognition was the best way possible. Since I can't show my face to the world, I think you deserve to show off yours," he explained with another chuckle. He then took a few steps toward her and furrowed his eyebrows. "Besides, you're a better dancer than that Sorelli girl-"

"Who had a real article printed about her," Marie interjected with a sharp look in her eye.

Erik snorted, shook his head, and went into the next room as he murmured something nasty about the Prima Ballerina.

Marie rolled her eyes and pivoted around on the bench. Stroking the piano keys, she began to play a few aimless notes. Looking up at the sheet of music that Erik had left there, she squinted her eyes in the candle light and started to play the melody. From the other room, she could hear Erik scramble to his feet and, within seconds, he was tearing the sheet of music away from the piano stand.

"It's...not finished," he choked out as he hurriedly folded it up and slipped it into his pocket.

Marie made a face at him and crossed her arms with a laugh. "Goodness, Erik- you've got to play me one sometime. I mean, you sit down here all day and write millions of songs yet I haven't heard a single one," she reprimanded.

"Well, when this one is finished, I promise I'll play it for you. I give you my word," he assured her with a confident smile.

After Marie reluctantly accepted his promise, Erik pulled a newspaper out of his coat pocket and handed Marie what looked like an ad for a new play. "Look at this," he told her, pointing to the blonde boy at center stage. "He'll be replacing Jonathan as one of the leads this week. Christopher Giry, Coming all the way from Sweden," Erik announced in a feigned voice.

Marie giggled and shook her head. "Just because he's famous does not mean that he'll be like the rest of them, Erik. I keep telling you that," she playfully scolded.

"Well then, we'll just have to see."

* * *

_**Hello everyone! This is going to be a great read, I assure you. Stick with the storyline as we delve into Erik and Marie's relationship (and possible love triangle)! I love to read reviews.**_

_**Thanks for reading. :)**_


	2. Chapter 2: The Dream

Chapter 2- The Dream

_Marie stood center stage in her pink tutu and white tights. She could hear a multitude of audience members mindlessly chattering through the now closed red velvet curtains. She could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. The very thought of all of those people watching her made her feel nauseous. She could imagine them preparing to be quick to judge, as they always were. She didn't have any idea how she even got here in the first place. How did she even attain a solo act?_

_Beyond the curtains, she could hear the music starting from the pit and, before she knew it, the curtains were opening. She looked left and right for some kind of comfort, but both wings were empty. She was alone._

_Marie looked out into the overwhelming darkness of the theatre and could feel the audience members' eyes already boring into her soul. Suddenly, the spotlight was shinning on her. She couldn't move. She had forgotten any choreography she'd learned. Had she even learned any? She could hear the audience starting to whisper taunts from below. She must've looked ridiculous standing there all alone. The musicians played on while she stood there stock-still like a doe in the sights of a hunter. She was frozen with fear. What could she possibly do?_

_She heard the audience's murmurs die down as she felt a warm hand take her own. She was suddenly dancing in the arms of a man she'd never danced with. She felt the music coursing through the both of them, controlling their graceful movements as her partner led her through bounding leaps and twirls. Taking a moment to get over the hurried beating of her own heart, she looked up at the face of her partner and was surprised to see a familiar black mask. Marie could hear the audience begin to clap as their performance drew to a close. She smiled up at Erik and he reflected her happiness back at her. They faced the audience to bow and-_

"Marie, you must hurry!" Adeline commanded as she shook the sleeping Marie from her dreams.

Marie's eyes blinked open as she adjusted to reality. She sighed and looked up at Adeline's pink lipstick and curled scarlet hair. "What's going on, Adi?" she mumbled, still a bit groggy.

Adeline nearly dragged Marie out from under her warm sheets. "Come on now! It doesn't matter. Just put on your nicest dress-we don't have time for a corset. We just have to be there in time to meet him. You have to get ready as fast as you can. If we aren't one of the first ones there, he might not be able to see us in the crowd. And he _must_ see us. I mean, he's rich as anything. Now, get moving!" she directed as she paced back and forth in front of Marie's bed. She then stopped and whipped her head around to face Marie, who was simply standing there in dumbfounded shock. Adeline scrunched up her nose and shook her head in disapproval. She sighed, walked over to Marie, and put her hands on either of Marie's shoulders. She looked her in the eyes and spoke very clearly. "We are going to meet someone famous. Put a nice dress on."

With another sigh, Adeline rolled her eyes and headed for the door with her golden dress billowing behind her. Before leaving, she turned around and pointed a finger a Marie. "Hurry up, now," she instructed again before closing the door behind her.

Marie shook her head and smiled at her friend's hurried excitement. Adeline was always one for the dramatics, which was why she ended up at the opera house. Although, she told Marie that she never expected to be dancing ballet and singing with the chorus. Marie figured that Adeline thought she deserved a lead role. Which was probably why she so desperately wanted to meet this Giry fellow: to either get close to fame herself or to marry a man with it. Marie found her friend's desires a bit silly and superficial, yet she would humor them because she knew Adeline was her only friend. Although most of the other chorus girls were kind enough, Marie liked to keep to herself- and Adeline never did notice Marie's frequent trips to the theatre's catacombs.

With an exasperated sigh, Marie sorted through the few dresses she owned and found a relatively nice one. It wasn't nearly as glamorous as Adeline's shimmery golden one, yet Marie knew that Adeline wouldn't let her wear anything prettier than what she was wearing. Besides, Adeline was the one who was meant to stand out-and Marie hardly thought the the light blue frock she held in her hands would warrant that kind of disapproval.

After she was all dressed, Marie stood in front of the small mirror that hung on the wall in the corner of the communal ballet girl bedroom. While smiling weakly at herself, she smoothed down her hair and fixed her dress. With a breath of satisfaction, Marie turned around to head for the door. Yet, something by her bed caught her eye. Stepping closer to the windowsill, she noticed a small wooden carving sitting there. She picked it up and examined the smooth billows of a woman's dress and a man with a mask-they were dancing. Marie nearly dropped the figurine out of pure shock. She felt her heart start to race. She'd only just woken up from that very dream. The only way someone could've found out about it was if she'd spoken in her sleep-and she knew that one of the girls would've complained if she did. How could such a coincidence happen? She turned the thing over in her hand and felt something on the bottom of it. A piece of parchment was wedged in a slit in the base of the carving. Marie took it out and unfolded it. It simply read: "Come and see me tonight. I've a surprise for you. -Erik"

Marie took a deep breath and tucked the carving and note into her pocket, still a little unsure of how Erik could've possibly done this. _Surely a coincidence,_ she assured herself. With another deep breath, she spun around to find two angry emerald eyes glaring at her. "Adeline!" Marie gasped. "You scared me half to death."

Adeline scowled at her and, without saying a word, took her by the hand and dragged her out of the room and down the stairs. It wasn't until they heard the overwhelming sound of chattering girls that she said anything at all. Without a falter in her step, Adeline began to scold Marie, yet all the while Marie was still thinking about the small figurine in her pocket.

"He's nearly here, Marie. You've already missed his arrival- you should've seen the crowd outside. But he's coming to meet the entire cast and speak with us chorus girls all by ourselves!" she exclaimed, pushing her way through the curtains in back of the stage. Adeline gasped. "There he is!" She pointed to the man at the center of a circle of chattering girls. Adeline quickly joined the crowd, pushing her way to the middle while clamped onto Marie's wrist, forcing her to follow. Marie watched her friend and countless others smile coquettishly at the man as he proclaimed how much of an honor it was to be here. Marie could see why Adeline had been so excited to see him. He was their age, obviously wealthy, and had the looks to match. Yet, certain things about him- his perfectly straight blonde hair or his flawless smile- broadcasted superficiality. Between the gossiping girls and their dashing admirer, Marie couldn't help but silently laugh at it all. Yet again, Erik's cynical view of the world was actually a correct judgment of it.

Monsieur Giry cleared his throat. "And that is why I am inviting you all to a masked ball!" he told them with a grin. The girls went into an uproar.

Marie had seen enough. She found her way through the swarm of excitement and scampered off to the quiet sanctity of the foyer. She had more important things to do than fawn over a celebrity. Fishing Erik's carving out of her pocket, she set out to find answers.


End file.
